I recently finished reading Perfume by Patrick Suskind. This macabre story isn’t for the faint of heart, but is a great read. Unfortunately, I saw previews for the movie before I picked up the book, so I had a vague idea of what was coming, and the shock was somewhat lessened. The story is very intriguing despite knowing where things were going, however. If you’re up for a bit of ghastly surprise, along with some 18th century knowledge of French perfumes, this one’s for you.

ETA: I still haven’t seen the movie, and I probably will, although I don’t think it got great reviews and I can’t imagine it will be as artfully done as is the prose.